Entitlement

“Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that we are automatically entitled to something, that is when we start walking all over others to get it.” ― Criss Jami ‘Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality’

Have the words I deserve slipped of your mouth? Well, I have said these words quite a few times in my life, and found out very quickly this sense of pride has gotten me nowhere – but having a complaining spirit and unsatisfied life.

I am very cautious of saying, if I say it at all, of what I deserve. I believe it says either two things:

Devil, I know there is a better life than this one I’m living

God, I want a better life than the one you gave me

The former is good. I mean, there is nothing wrong with telling the enemy that Hey, you had my life too long! God said I am victorious, the head and not the tail, above and no beneath! And I deserve the life He has forme! He promised this to me! The latter is bad… very bad. Sometimes we are complaining against God rather than defeating the enemy. Sometimes we feel entitled to something or someone more than what God has placed in our life. So discontentment sets in and what should have been our “thanksgiving and gratitude” turns to be an unsatisfied soul.

The opening quote says man is NOT deserving of ALL he wants. Now, every person has their different set of ‘wants’ out of this life, but what makes us think we deserve any of the things we want, if not all? By definition, entitlement is the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.

At my former company, I have worked with a particular company whose events were spectacular, to say the least! However, each conference hosted a number of “VIPs” whose entitlement issues forced me to view them in a very negative light. Even though I knew it could probably jeopardize my service towards them, I couldn’t let it interfere with my work. Entitlement really makes you step on and over others to get what you desire or the treatment that you want. And this was the case, witnessing those VIPs on different occasions sectioning themselves off from the rest of the group (even though they were once there in their very shoes shoes), getting preferred VIP cars instead of riding the coach to the receptions or even just walking past the very ones who made their life in the conference more plush, without a thank you or even eye contact.

Just me, but one way to turn me completely off is arrogance and a sense of superiority or entitlement. This is because I know that the only One I felt deserved all the entitlement in the world, came as a servant to others.

Notice Philippians 2:3 tells us to:

Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. (AMP)

It doesn’t tell us to regard ourselves more important than others because of our gender, title, occupation, work, race, religion and so on! Servants of God must remember that one way you serve God is intentionally serving others. As we do to the least of men you are doing onto God. Believers must walk in the spirit of humility all the time, even when the world says you have a right to, or that you feel, yourself, have a right to have entitlement.

So I ask, how are you treating God? Let’s do a heart check today, and ask God to remove the spirit of pride, selfishness and entitlement that may have seeped into our hearts! He is so just to convict us, forgive us and instruct us for forward living!